City of God, based on a true story is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Taxi Driver. Brutally violent, jarring in its depictions, and beautifully made the film is a one of a kind experience that takes us into the slums just outside of…
Tag: escape
The Deer Hunter (1978) – Micheal Cimino
Micheal Cimino’s examination of the effects of war, framed around the Vietnam conflict and a small industrial town in Pennsylvania is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Apocalypse Now. Laying out the scars, physical, mental and unseen that affected those who fought in it,…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990) – Hollow Pursuits, and The Most Toys
Captain’s log: stardate 43801.4 First airing on 30 April, 1990, this episode, written by Sally Caves introduced fan favourite Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) to the Trek Universe. Barclay is smart, but shy, suffers from some anxieties, and releases them through escapes to the holodeck. In fact, he slips away every chance he gets, as, within…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990) – The Hunted, and The High Ground
Captain’s log: stardate 43489.2 Airing on 8 January, 1990, this episode featured the first appearance of James Cromwell in the Trek universe. Here he plays Prime Minister Nayrok in an episode written by Robin Bernheim. An escaped prisoner, Danar (Jeff McCarthy) gives Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise a run for its money after he…
The Twilight Zone (1963) – Valley of the Shadow, and He’s Alive
It’s time to venture further into The Twilight Zone, as I delve deeper into season 4 of The Complete Series on blu-ray now available from Paramount Pictures. First up this week is Valley of the Shadow. Written by Charles Beaumont, this story sees reporter, Philip Redfield (Ed Nelson) finding himself stuck in a strange small…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988) – The Child, and Where Silence Has Lease
Captain’s log: stardate 42073.1 Season 2 got underway on 21 November, 1988 with The Child a re-purposed script from the 1970s proposed Phase 2 series that eventually became The Motion Picture. It was an Ilia and Decker story, with Ilia being switched to Troi (Marina Sirtis). Written by Jaron Summers, Jon Povill and Maurice Hurley,…
The Twilight Zone (1962) – Four O’Clock, Hocus-Pocus and Frisby, and The Trade-Ins
Paramount Pictures’ The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series on blu-ray continues to entertain. This week’s trio of episodes continue to guide me deeper through the third season of the iconic series. First up is Four O’Clock, which first aired 6 April, 1962, was penned by series creator Rod Serling, basing it on a short story…
The Twilight Zone (1961/1962) – Five Characters in Search of an Exit, A Quality of Mercy, and Nothing in the Dark
It’s time to dive back into The Twilight Zone with The Complete Series collection from Paramount Pictures. First up this week is Five Characters in Search of an Exit. Series creator Rod Serling writes the teleplay using Marvin Petal’s short story as his source material. Airing on 22 December, 1961 the tale finds an army…
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) – The Terratin Incident, The Time Trap, and The Ambergris Element
Captain’s log: stardate 5577.3 The Terratin Incident was written by Paul Schneider and was first broadcast on 17 November, 1973. The Enterprise receives a transmission from Celephus, following the transmission is a flash of light, which disables all the dilithium aboard ship. Added to the problem that the ship is losing power is the fact…
Stalag 17 (1953) – Billy Wilder
This is a film I had been eager to see, and was glad to see it come up under the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as a recommendation following my viewing of The Great Escape. My eagerness to see it was twofold, I like Billy Wilder’s work, and Stalag 17 is the…
The Mind Reels 